Run for Your Life Flashcards
Describe the role of tendons.
Attach muscle to bones. Enable muscles to power joint movement. Not elastic. Made of white fibrous tissue - bundles of collagen fibres so strong.
Describe the role of ligaments.
Holds the position of bones and controls and restricts movement in the joint. Made of yellow elastic tissue and collagen which gives both strength and elasticity and flexibility. Connects bone to bone.
Describe the role of cartilage.
Cartilage protects bones within joints. Hard but flexible. Elastic and able to withstand compressive forces. Made of cells called chondrocytes within an organic matrix of collagen fibres. Very god shock absorber. 2 types: hyaline cartilage and white fibrous cartilage.
Describe the role of bone.
Supports the body structure and protect vital organs, strong and hard.
Bone cells embedded in a matrix of collagen fibres and calcium salts is light. Very strong under compression forces.
Describe the role of synovial fluid.
Acts as lubricant
Describe how a pair of antagonistic muscles work to move a joint.
The pair of muscles create opposite forces. When one relaxes (stretches), the other contracts (shortens).
What are the extensor and flexor muscles?
- Extensor muscle: the muscle which contracts to extend the joint.
- Flexor muscles: The muscle which contracts to flex/ bend the joint/ limb.
What are the 3 main types of muscle?
- Smooth muscle
- Cardiac muscle
- Striated, Voluntary or Skeletal Muscle
Describe smooth muscle.
Under the control of the involuntary nervous system. Causes slow contractions of many internal organs, i.e. arteries, intestine. Long and spindle shaped cells, each
with their own nucleus. No striations/stripes (parallel groves). Contractions are slow & long lasting, and the fibres fatigue very slowly.
Describe cardiac muscle.
Only found in the heart. Striated/striped muscle. Interconnected fibres to ensure a co-ordinated wave of contraction. Contracts spontaneously (myogenic). Does not fatigue. Capable of short contractions over a long time period (your whole life).
Describe Striated, Voluntary or Skeletal Muscle.
Muscle attached to the skeleton & involved in locomotion.
Under the control of the voluntary nervous system. It contracts rapidly, but fatigues quickly. Capable of strong contractions.
Describe the muscle tissue.
Muscle is made up of bundles of muscle fibres, surrounded by connective tissue. Each muscle fibre is one cell which is multinucleate and striated. Inside the muscle fibre cell are numerous myofibrils. Each myofibril is composed of repeated contractile units called sarcomeres. The two types of protein within these are actin and myosin.
Describe what happens when muscle contracts.
Contractions are brought about by co-ordinated sliding of the protein filaments over each other in the sarcomere. The actin moves between the myosin. This shortens the length of the sarcomere, and hence the length of the muscle.
